For women entrepreneurs, business is booming but capital isn't keeping up

Women-owned businesses now constitute a record high of 40% of private companies in New York City, having increased four times more quickly than male-owned firms in the past five years, new data from the Center for an Urban Future show.

The biggest hurdle is obtaining financing, be it through venture-capital firms or banks, where women can get short shrift.

“I had to go through four banks,” said Barbara Armand, owner of construction-management firm Armand Corp. “I finally ended up with a small bank that refinanced my debt and gave me a decent line of credit. Even that bank wanted my husband to co-sign, and that peeved me. It doesn’t make sense—he’s not involved with the business.”

“I’ve heard stories from other women saying the same thing. It’s demoralizing. For all the work you do on a daily basis, it’s like asking a parent to sign.”

If women-owned companies had easier access to capital, the benefits to New York could be immense. Ninety-one percent of the city’s 376,000 women-owned businesses don’t have a single employee other than the owner herself.

“If we can get more of these women entrepreneurs to scale up, no matter what industry they’re in, that will have a powerful impact on the city’s economy,” said Jonathan Bowles, executive director at Center for an Urban Future.

If one-quarter of these single-employee firms hired one worker, the city would see an influx of nearly 100,000 new jobs. Men can play a big role in helping women entrepreneurs reach new levels of growth.

“It’s going to take a few brave men,” Armand said. “Men who are well respected in their industry to give opportunities for women to do business, and encourage the same of fellow business owners.”

Language translation services company TransPerfect has the most New York area employees on the list, nearly doubling the total of the No. 2-ranked firm.

Walsh Electrical Contracting and MacQuesten Construction Management have the sunniest outlooks on their revenue prospects for 2016.

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